Unknown Territory
by TigerButterflied
Summary: Sara finds herself in turmoil after Greg is hurt at a crime scene.


This is from a while back, set somewhere in fifth season. Characters ain't mine nope nope nope.

Unknown Territory

"Hey, Greg, you want upstairs or downstairs?"

Sara Sidle glanced inquiringly at her handsome partner. Today his hair was wild, and his mood must've been as well because he was grinning like a maniac. "I'll take the upstairs. I love unknown territory." He raised his eyebrows suggestively. "Sometimes exploring strange territory is very rewarding." With that, he slunk off, not waiting for a reply.

Sara grinned and shook her head. Something was definitely brewing between them. Since he'd become a CSI they'd grown closer, but the innuendo and flirting had stopped for a while. Now it was back, more of it than ever, and she was beginning to think he wasn't entirely just kidding. She caught him staring at her on a regular basis, and she had to admit she was starting to like it. A lot.

A loud crash interrupted her thoughts. "Greg!"

He was on his back in a pile of debris in the dining room. A glance told her what had happened; the upstairs floor had collapsed.

He startied to sit up, but she pushed him back."No, wait; your back or neck could be hurt." She hurriedly opened her cellphone. "Hello, operator, I need an ambulance at 1010 Pine. We have an injured CSI..."

Hours later, Sara sat by Greg's hospital bed. He was going to be fine as soon as the broken wrist and arm mended, the doctor assured her, but he was going to be in pain for a while. He would come to her place to recover, she had decided that much; he would be on heavy pain meds for a few days at least, and he needed someone to look after him. She had called both of them in for the duration, resulting in a very interesting conversation with Grissom. Greg was still out of it, probably from the anesthesia, and Sara sat there studying his face as he slept. He looked so young, like a college kid. He probably still got carded when he bought beer, even though he was close to thirty.

She sighed. She should have done the upstairs herself. She had been doing field work long enough to know the feel of a soft floor. Besides, she weighed a lot less than he did; it might not have collapsed had she been there.

He was mumbling, so Sara leaned forward. "Hey, Greg. You okay?"

His eyes popped open in disoriented astonishment. "Sara? Where are we? My arm..." He winced.

"The crime scene. The floor collapsed, remember?" She stroked his forehead. "You fell and broke your arm and wrist. Doctor says you're going to be okay, though."

He shook his head. "Uh, yeah, I remember now... Did I mess up the evidence?"

She shook her head. "No, and don't worry about the crime scene. Catherine and Warrick took over for us. They'll be by to visit later."

"Okay." He sighed and closed his eyes. "Sara?"

"Yeah?"

Greg's voice was earnest and very serious. "I love you so much. Why won't you give me a chance." With that, he rolled over and went back to sleep.

Three weeks later, Sara's mind went back to what Greg had said. Her mind had been worrying at the situation almost obsessively, studying his behavior and other things he had said, trying desperately to figure out if he had been serious, drugged out of his mind, or a combination of the two. Tension hung between them, and she had the distinct feeling that he was waiting - maybe for a response from her.

Her stomach knotted as she considered this. If she was right, then what would she say? Would she give him a chance? The thought was strangely exciting. He was an attractive man, and Sara had thought about him in a sexual way at times, even done a bit of fantasizing. More than a little, she amended, but fantasy and reality were very different creatures. After all, fantasies were painless; in reality, relationships were often very rough roads.

She sighed. With Gil Grissom she had always been eager to give it a try. Their one sexual encounter had been awkward and rushed. In spite of this, and also despite his insistence that it would never work between them she had spent five years of her life pining over him. Hank the paramedic had been selfish and rough with her physically, and when they weren't in bed she had often gotten the impression he was just plain bored with her. She had given him six weeks anyhow, might still be dating him if she hadn't found out about his other girlfriend, his MAIN girlfriend as it turned out. In retrospect she had to admit she'd given the vain bastard a lot more time and attention than he'd deserved.

So how about Greg? He'd asked her a long time ago what Hank had that he didn't. She hadn't answered, mainly because his attitude pissed her off. She'd seen how jealous he was and had thought he had major balls to ask. Truthfully, though, she couldn't say she had a sensible answer - Greg was smarter, at least as handsome, and much more fun to be around. The weird part was that even while she was dating Hank, she'd felt more chemistry with Greg. Greg was quicksilver electrified; the air hummed with energy when he was around. He could be silly, but since she'd been mentoring him she'd seen that he was passionate and tenacious over things and people that were important to him. Five years, and he still pursued her.

She had hurt him, that she knew, had treated him a lot like Grissom had treated her. Her eyes burned as the awareness washed over her. He hadn't deserve the putdowns and brushoffs, not when all he had done was dare to approach her, maybe even love her. Yet he'd kept coming back in spite of it all, had always been there, hope in his eyes and his heart in his hand.

Sara took a deep breath and picked up the telephone. "Hello, Greg? You weren't asleep I hope. Good. Listen, I was thinking... do you mind if I come over for a little bit? Great. See you in a little while..."

And with that, Sara Sidle took one big step into unknown territory...


End file.
